UPSC Key: Justin Trudeau, 123 agreement and Harappan script

Trudeau announces plans to step down, to stay PM till Liberals name new leader

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

What’s the ongoing story: Amidst widespread unpopularity, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation as the country’s Prime Minister and the head of the Liberal Party on Monday (January 6). 

Key Points to Ponder:

• Personality in News—Justin Trudeau

• Why Justin Trudeau resigned?

• What happens next for the Liberals?

• What are the political and constitutional process followed in Canada when a sitting Prime Minister resigns?

• What can be the possible impact of Justin Trudeau’s resignation on global geopolitics?

• What can be the economic and trade implications of leadership changes in Canada, particularly for its relations with India?

• How Justin Trudeau’s resignation will affect the Indian Diaspora?

Key Takeaways:

• Addressing a press conference, he said, “Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election, and it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that I cannot be the one to carry the liberal standard into the next election.”

• This move seems to be timed to ensure the party presents some semblance of stability ahead of the impending parliamentary election.

• Trudeau’s Liberal government already stood on shaky ground, having won the last election in 2021 with the support of the Jagmeet Singh-led left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) in an agreement meant to last till September 2025.

• Essentially, the Liberals had amassed seats just shy of the parliamentary majority to form a government and the NDP agreed to support it through confidence motions and budget votes.

• Earlier in October too, nearly two dozen MPs signed a letter calling for Trudeau’s resignation. The Liberals witnessed historically low approval ratings, with an Ipsos survey rating it at 33%, behind the Conservatives at 45%. Trudeau’s own approval rating hit an all-time low of 26% in October 2024 from 54% in February 2021.

• In recent years, the Liberal Party has presided over rising political divisiveness and inflationary pressures. A key point of contention has been the soaring housing crisis, characterised by spiralling house prices and increasing homelessness.

• There has also been widespread concern about Trudeau’s ability to handle the fallout of impending economic protectionism from the US, once Trump ascends to presidency later this month.

Do You Know:

• From New Delhi’s perspective, Trudeau’s time was up and the assessment, going by opinion polls, was that he would have possibly lost the elections after being in office for 10 years — he became the Liberal Party’s leader in 2013 and PM in 2015.

• Trudeau is seen as someone who has taken a “scorched earth policy” in terms of India-Canada ties, especially after his allegation in September 2023 that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Delhi has rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “politically motivated”, and accused his government of sheltering terrorists.

• This has led to a downslide in ties — to unprecedented levels, comparable only to India’s ties with Pakistan and China. Dozens of diplomats have been expelled, including High Commissioners, visas have been impacted, no new project is being implemented, and trade has been crippled in the last year-and-half.

• With Trudeau’s departure, some view it as a time and opportunity to repair the damage done in the last year-and-half.

• Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world, numbering 16 lakh people of Indian origin, accounting for more than 3 percent of the total Canadian population and 700,000 NRIs.

• India became the top source of foreign students studying in Canada — 2.3 lakh, according to 2022 data.

• India’s total trade with Canada (goods and services) in 2021-22 was US $11.68 billion, much below potential, but when it comes to India’s import of pulses, almost 30% of the total import comes from Canada.

• Canadian pension funds have cumulatively invested around US $55 billion in India. Cumulative FDI from Canada since 2000 is about US$4.07 billion. All these have continued despite speed bumps like the recent pause in trade talks — and despite challenges over the Khalistan issue.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍His ratings down, Trudeau announces resignation, opens a window to reset ties

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1.Which of the following is a key feature of Canada’s parliamentary system?
1. The Prime Minister is the head of government.
2. The Governor General acts as the representative of the monarchy.
3. The head of state is directly elected by the citizens.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3
UPSC Previous year Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍‘Indian diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (UPSC GS2, 2020)

Long before Jeju Air crash, South Korea rose to be a role model of air safety

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.

What’s the ongoing story: JEJU AIR crash in South Korea last week, the deadliest plane accident in years, has stunned the global aviation industry. The country is regarded as a model for how to turn poor air safety practices into some of the world’s best.

Key Points to Ponder:

• ‘Jeju Air plane crashes in South Korea’-What you know about the same?

• How Jeju Air plane crash happened?

• What is a bird strike?

• Has South Korea had any other major airplane accidents?

• What is the role of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in promoting global aviation safety?

• How South Korea’s focus on aviation safety can serve as a model for other nations?

• What are the challenges associated with ensuring air safety in densely populated and high-traffic regions?

• Know the terms-Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and automated ATC

• Even though plane crashes don’t happen very often, they cause a lot of damage and give the people involved very little chance of surviving. It has been observed that the majority of accidents occur during take-offs and landings. What role does disaster management play in the aviation industry?

• What factors contribute to aircraft accidents?

• What are the potential risk-reduction strategies and post-disaster requirements for the aircraft disaster?

• Past aviation disasters-What Lessons did we learn?

Key Takeaways:

• Around the turn of the century, South Korea began an immense project to over haul its aviation safety practices, drawing on the experiences of other countries including the United States. By 2008, South Korea had earned one of the world’s highest scores in a safety audit conducted by the
International Civil Aviation Organisation. At the time of the crash, it was considered one of the safest countries for flying.

• Air safety experts cautioned that it was premature to speculate about what caused the crash December 29 of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, in which 179 of the 181 people on board died. It was Jeju Air’s first fatal crash in its two-decade history, and the worst ever on South Korean soil.

• In the United States, the FAA specifies that runway safety areas at most large airports should extend 1,000 feet beyond the runway’s end and 500 feet on the sides.

• The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that sets global safety standards, recommends a Standard buffer zone of about 180 to 300 meters (591 to 984 feet) from the end of the runway and ones on the sides at least twice the width of the runway.

• Any structures within these zones should be “frangible,” meaning they must be able to break or give way to minimize damage in the event of a crash.

• At Muan Airport, the hard, concrete structure, surrounded by a mound of dirt, sits approximately 250 meters, or 820 feet, from the runway’s end, according to local officials. A series of deadly Korean Air crashes more than two decades ago helped spur South Korea to reassess s its aviation safety protocols and rebuild with much higher standards.

• In response, Korean Air began new efforts to improve its safety record. It brought in specialists from Delta Air Lines and Boeing to help revamp training and other practices. Korean Air also invited the Flight Safety Foundation, based in Virginia, to take a look at its operations.

Do You Know:

• Three decades ago, South Korea had a dismal record of air safety. Its flagship airline, Korean Air, experienced several deadly crashesinthe1980s and 1990s.In 2001, the US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded South Korea’s air safety rating for failing to meet international standards.

• Nearly 180 people died after a plane crashed as it was landing in South Korea on the morning of Sunday 29 December. The twin-engine Boeing 737-800, arriving from Bangkok, had 175 passengers and six crew members onboard. Only two, both cabin crew members, survived the deadliest air crash in South Korea.

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations agency which helps 193 countries to cooperate together and share their skies to their mutual benefit. Since it was established in 1944, ICAO’s support and coordination has helped countries to diplomatically and technically realize a uniquely rapid and dependable network of global air mobility, connecting families, cultures, and businesses all over the world, and promoting sustainable growth and socio-economic prosperity wherever aircraft fly.

• The safety management Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) are intended to assist States in managing aviation safety risks, in coordination with their Service Providers.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍South Korea Plane Crash leaves 179 people dead: How do bird strikes impact flights?

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2. What was a turning point for South Korea’s transformation into a global leader in aviation safety?
(a) Liberalization of its aviation sector
(b) Implementation of strict international safety standards following major accidents
(c) Collaboration with neighboring countries for air safety training
(d) Privatization of major airlines

FRONT PAGE

US eases curbs to push N-deal, 3 India entities may be off blacklist

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

What’s the ongoing story: In an incremental step towards operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced Monday that Washington is finalizing steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and US companies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the nuclear deal between India and USA?

• What are the important features of the nuke deal as signed between India and USA?

• Why is it called 123 agreement?

• What happens to various provisions of the Hyde Act which are of concern?

• What are benefits to India from doing this agreement?

• What is present scenario in US India Nuclear deal?

• What is India’s nuclear liability law?

• What is the law governing nuclear liability in India?

• What are existing projects in India?

• What is the government’s stand?

• “The removal of Indian entities from the US Entity List could boost India’s nuclear manufacturing and research capabilities.” Discuss this statement with a focus on its economic and technological implications.

Key Takeaways:

• Sources said these could include: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC); Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR) and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) — all government-run institutions.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Sullivan, posted on X: “The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership has scaled new heights, including in the areas of technology, defence, space, biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence. Look forward to building upon this momentum in ties between our two democracies for the benefit of our people and global good.”

• Speaking at IIT Delhi, Sullivan, who met NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said: “Although former (US) President (George W) Bush and former Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh laid out a vision of civil nuclear cooperation nearly 20 years ago, we have yet to fully realize it…the Biden administration has determined that it is past time to take the next major step in cementing this partnership.

• Sullivan also announced that India-US commercial and civil space partnership is set to “lift off” with President Biden signing “certain papers.” This move, he said, will help bolster cooperation in areas of missile technology.

• A joint statement said Sullivan briefed the Indian side on the “updates brought out by the Biden administration to US missile export control policies under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that will boost US commercial space cooperation with India”.

Do You Know:

• The US Entity List is a list of foreign individuals, businesses, and organizations that are subject to export restrictions and licensing requirements for certain goods and technologies. The list — compiled by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce — is ostensibly used to prevent unauthorized trade in items that could be diverted to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, or other activities that are perceived by the US as going its foreign policy or national security interests.

• The announcement, a fortnight before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, is significant as the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in 2008, has not been operationalised in more than a decade and half.

• The bilateral “Agreement for Co-operation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” has been done in view of the requirement for the US side under Section 123 of its Atomic Energy Act 1954. Hence it is also popularly known as the 123 Agreement.

• The Hyde Act is a law of the US that is applicable to the US Administration. The US Administration has categorically assured us that the Hyde Act enables the United States to fulfill all of the commitments it made to India in the July 18 and March 2 Joint Statements. India’s commitments and obligations would only be those mentioned in the bilateral 123 Agreement.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Boosting Indo-US nuclear collaboration: the need, two key hurdles

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3. Which multilateral group did India join to facilitate nuclear trade without being a member of the NPT?
(a) Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
(b) Wassenaar Arrangement
(c) Australia Group
(d) Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
UPSC Previous year Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍With growing energy needs should India keep on expanding its nuclear energy programme? Discuss the facts and fears associated with nuclear energy.

EXPRESS NETWORK

High Court flags crevasses, landslide risks in Bageshwar, suspends soapstone mining

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: Calling it ironic that trained officers have permitted mining operations at the base of a hillock when there are habitations in revenue villages at the top, the Uttarakhand High Court on Monday suspended all mining operations in Bageshwar until further orders.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why Uttarakhand High Court suspended all mining operations in Bageshwar?

• Role of local administration in regulating mining activities-Discuss

• Map Work- Bageshwar

• “Judicial intervention often becomes necessary in the absence of administrative accountability”—Examine

• Discuss the socio-economic and ecological challenges associated with mining in India.

• Highlight the importance of community participation and local governance in ensuring sustainable resource management.

Key Takeaways:

• The decision was taken after court-appointed commissioners submitted a report on soapstone mining in the district.

• “The report is not merely alarming but is also shocking. The report and the photographs clearly demonstrate complete lawlessness by the miners and are proof of local administration turning a blind eye to the transgression. Further, the report and the photographs, prima facie, demonstrate that further mining operations, which have already damaged dwelling houses, are likely to result in landslides and definite loss of lives,” said the order by the Bench of Chief Justice G Narender.

• The report by the commissioners states that there were alarming levels of land subsidence and “soapstone mining in the region is leading to critical environmental and socio-economic issues for which the community is at the receiving end”.

• The court said photographs indicate huge crevasses, indicating impending landslides that could lead to the loss of many lives. “Hence, pending further orders, all mining operations in Bageshwar district shall stand suspended with immediate effect,” the court said.

• The report also said that there was illegal tree felling, unauthorised use of forest land by mine operators, employment of foreign labour from Nepal and flouting of labour laws. It also pointed to air, water, and noise pollution and the drying up of springs.

• The issue of land subsidence was found in the villages of Kanda-Kanyal, Kanda and other mining sites.

Do You Know:

• According to a report submitted in the NGT by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the area’s flora includes oak, cedar and cypress, and the wildlife there includes leopard, wild boar, and fox.

• The Kalika temple, a significant religious site, is also in the area.

• Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand has vast deposits of khadia or soapstone—a soft silicate rock used in manufacturing paints, paper and cosmetics. The mineral has been mined in the district for decades, but mining operations have begun to show severe environmental impact in recent years.

• In September, media reports noted that the National Green Tribunal has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and asked all stakeholders to file a response a week before the next hearing scheduled for December 11.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The 360° UPSC Debate| Himalayan States: Environmental concerns vs development

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4. Soapstone, a soft metamorphic rock, is primarily used in which of the following industries?
(a) Steel and automobile manufacturing
(b) Cosmetics and ceramics
(c) Oil and gas exploration
(d) Pharmaceutical and biotechnology

ISRO’s cowpea seeds sprout leaves in space

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

What’s the ongoing story: In a milestone for ISRO, the cowpea seedlings it sent to space as part of a biological experiment on December 30 have sprouted their first leaves, the space agency said Monday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Microgravity?

• What is the impact of microgravity on biological processes like plant growth?

• What is Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies?

• Why ISRO’s experiment of growing cowpea seeds in space is significant?

• How can this research contribute to the future of space exploration?

• Growing plants in space-Know challenges, pros and cons

• Highlight the significance of international collaborations in space research for experiments like space agriculture.

• How can India leverage international collaborations for its space missions?

• Role of ISRO in contributing to global research on sustainability and food security, both on Earth and in space-Examine

• Discuss the environmental and ethical considerations of using advanced technology to grow crops in space.

Key Takeaways:

• The experiment, ISRO’s first biological experiment in space, was part of CROPS (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies), an automated platform designed to cultivate and sustain plant life in microgravity environment of space.

• Developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, it involves growing eight cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds within a controlled environment equipped with active thermal management onboard ISRO’s POEM-4 module.

• Of the eight seedlings, at least three sprouted leaves. “This accomplishment not only demonstrates ISRO’s capability to grow plants in space, but also provides valuable insights for future long-duration missions,” ISRO said on X.

• “The success of the CROPS experiment marks a promising step towards sustainable human presence in space,” ISRO said. The cowpea experiment wasn’t the only one carried on board POEM during the recent launch.

• Experiments to study plant cells in microgravity, by Amity University, and the growth curve of gut bacteria in space, by Bengaluru’s R V College of Engineering, were also carried out.

Do You Know:

• CROPS stands for Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies which is an unmanned experimental module designed to develop ISRO’s capabilities for growing and sustaining plants in space.

• CROPS first mission (CROPS – 1) is designed to demonstrate germination of a seed and growth of plant up to two leaves stage in space. It is an airtight container of diameter 300mm and height 450mm simulating earth like environment in space except gravity.

• A neutral clay soil medium in pellet form having high porosity to absorb and retain water is used in CROPS – 1 for the seed to spread its roots. The soil medium can be sterilized by heating at high temperature to neutralize microbes, fungus, spores etc. without losing any of its functional properties. The soil is premixed with a slow release fertilizer (activated by water) in a measured quantity to provide nutrients to the plant in a controlled manner over a period of time. The soil is tightly packed in four chambers (with two seeds each) covered by a silicon foam layer followed by a cover plate on the top to provide sufficient compression to the soil.

• Each seed is pasted on to a polypropylene tissue and glued together using an organic gum. This gum holds the seed rigidly in position until it is wetted by water. The seed also has to be thoroughly sterilized using ethanol before pasting to avoid contamination. The pasted tissue strip is inserted into the soil medium through a slit in the silicon foam and the cover plate. This mechanism of seed fixing helps the seed to survive the high vibrations and shock levels experienced during launch.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍CROPS: A Leap in Space Biological Experiments

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5. Microgravity is a condition in space where:
(a) Gravity is completely absent
(b) Gravity is significantly weaker than on Earth
(c) Gravity fluctuates frequently
(d) The environment is vacuum-sealed

Centre regularises commando camps in Assam reserve forests, orders penalty for violations

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: The Centre has regularised two commando camps of the Assam government which were built on forest land without prior approvals in violation of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Discuss the implications of regularising non-forest activities, such as commando camps, in protected forests.

• How does this impact environmental governance in India?

• Analyse the role of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, in balancing developmental needs and environmental protection.

• “Strict enforcement of environmental laws is necessary to prevent misuse of protected areas.” evaluate this statement in the context of the commando camp in Assam.

• Examine the role of central and state governments in ensuring compliance with environmental regulations in protected forests.

Key Takeaways:

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has granted ex-post facto clearances to these camps in the Geleky and Hailakandi reserve forests for non-forestry use of 26 hectares and 11.5 hectares of land, respectively.

• While granting approval, FAC has ordered the Assam government to pay a penalty for the violations and directed its regional office in Shillong to act against senior officers of the Assam Forest Department.

• The ministry’s panel granted ex-post facto clearances to these camps even as it has submitted before the NGT that they were built without obtaining prior permissions from the Centre. While NGT’s principal bench is hearing the Hailakandi case suo motu, the eastern bench is hearing the Geleky case based on a petition filed by Assam-based environmental activist Rohit Chowdhury.

• The Assam government, on its part, had submitted to the Centre, despite conclusions of illegality, that it had constructed these camps for “forest protection and conservation”, especially keeping in view the threat from armed encroachers.

Do You Know:

• In August 2024, the Assam government had submitted to NGT in an affidavit that the battalion camp construction was being done to secure the forests in Geleky from encroachers and thus it was for forest conservation and management. The Assam government has also sought an ex post facto clearance from the environment ministry, however, it has not been granted yet as the ministry is still examining the issue.

• The NGT did not accept the state government’s submissions in the last hearing on August 9 and had noted in its order, “…we are of the view that it is not for the PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator of Forest) Assam to take a decision as to whether the strong constructions for 800 personnel with arms, ammunitions and sophisticated weapons would impact forest conservation or not since the decision in such a case has to be taken by the Central Government in view of the mandatory statutory requirement of Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.”

• The protected area network of Assam includes 5 National Parks and 18 wildlife sanctuaries covering an area of 0.40 million ha constituting 4.98% of the geographical area. The state has three Tiger Reserves, namely Kaziranga, Manas and Nameri. Kaziranga National
Park and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary are in the list of World Heritage sites.

• The FC Act was legislated in 1980 to regulate the diversion of forests for construction and mining. After more than four decades, the government proposes to “broaden the horizons of the Act… to keep its provisions in tandem with the dynamic changes in the ecological, strategic and economic aspirations” of the country.

• In December 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that the Forest (Conservation) Act would apply to all land parcels that were either recorded as ‘forest’ or resembled the dictionary meaning of forest. Until then, the FC Act applied to areas notified as forests under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.

• This blanket order made the FC Act applicable to all land recorded as forest and to all standing forests irrespective of their land status, restraining “development or utility-related work.” Further, notes the Bill’s statement of reasons, “apprehensions prevailed regarding applicability” of the FC Act in the plantations raised on private and non-forest land.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Assam’s commando camp in reserved Geleky forest violated law, will take action, Environment Ministry admits before NGT

UPSC Practice Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
6. A particular State in India has the following characteristics: (2012)
1. It is located on the same latitude which passes through northern Rajasthan.
2. It has over 80% of its area under forest cover.
3. Over 12% of forest cover constitutes the Protected Area Network in this State.
Which one among the following States has all the above characteristics?
(a) Arunachal Pradesh
(b) Assam
(c) Himachal Pradesh
(d) Uttarakhand
UPSC Previous year Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍“The most significant achievement of modern law in India is the constitutionalization of environmental problems by the Supreme Court.” Discuss this statement with the help of relevant case laws. (2022)

THE IDEAS PAGE

MSP guarantee is feasible

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies III: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices

What’s the ongoing story: Kavitha Kuruganti, Kirankumar Vissa andYogendra Yadav Writes: The government officially declares MSP for 23 crops every year. The TV-watching public believes that the government has done a great favour to the farmers. In reality, the government does precious little to ensure that farmers get this “minimum” price.

Key Points to Ponder:

• ‘Legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all the crops’-Comment

• MSP (minimum support price) and effectiveness of MSP implementation-discuss

• Which are the Crops Covered under MSP?

• How MSP is calculated (paid out costs, labour etc.) and Crops covered under the MSP

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP)-Know in Detail

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) and Minimum support prices (MSP)-Connect the dots

• How Government fix MSPs of crops before every planting season?

• “Ensuring a legal guarantee for MSP is not just an economic demand but also a social justice issue.” Discuss this statement in the context of Indian agriculture.

• Evaluate the role of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in addressing farmers’ concerns about MSP.

Key Takeaways:

Kavitha Kuruganti, Kirankumar Vissa and Yogendra Yadav Writes:

• The government officially declares MSP for 23 crops every year with a fanfare that makes public believe that the government has done a great favour to the farmers.

• In reality, the government does precious little to ensure that farmers get this “minimum” price. If the government does not take any action when the market price goes below MSP, the words “minimum” and “support” become meaningless.

• Clearly, an MSP that is not guaranteed is no MSP. The farmers simply want the government to redeem its promissory note.

• However, every time the farmers’ demand comes up for discussion, an outcry is orchestrated in the mainstream media, portraying it as unreasonable, operationally impossible or a fiscal disaster. Much of this criticism is either directed at an earlier version of this demand that the farmers’ movement has outgrown or is deliberate scaremongering.

• The basic principle of a legally binding MSP is very simple: Farmers must have a legal entitlement to receive — and the state would have a corresponding legal obligation to ensure to farmers — at least a remunerative MSP for all agricultural produce. The point of this definition is that the state’s obligation is to “ensure” that the farmers receive the statutory price for their produce, not necessarily to “purchase” the farmers’ produce. Correspondingly, the farmers’ entitlement is to “receive” the statutory price, irrespective of who they receive it from.

• This principle can be operationalised through three main mechanisms: Expanded procurement, effective market intervention and assured deficit payment.

• Timely market intervention and all other measures mentioned above can ensure that market prices would automatically be close to MSP, and thus the deficits would be significantly lower. At the present rates, a legally guaranteed MSP would cost about 0.5 per cent of the Union budget.

Do You Know:

• The concept of Minimum Support Price (MSPs) was first proposed throughout the 1960s. The government declares minimum support prices for a total of 23 crops throughout each farming season.

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a commodity refers to the price at which the government is obligated to purchase the produce from farmers in the event that the market price falls below this threshold.

• Consequently, Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) serve as a baseline for market prices, guaranteeing that farmers obtain a specific minimum compensation to cover their cultivation expenses and potentially generate some profit.

• The Minimum Support Price (MSPs) fulfil an additional policy objective. By utilising these measures, the government provides incentives for the cultivation of specific crops, thus assuring the maintenance of an adequate supply of essential food grains in India.

• In general, Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) have a significant influence on determining the price standards for agricultural products, extending beyond the specific commodities for which they are officially declared.

• The announcement of Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) is determined by the Union government, hence signifying that it is a decision made by the government. However, the government mostly relies on the recommendations put out by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) when making its decisions.

• While recommending MSPs, the CACP looks at the following factors:
— The demand and supply of a commodity;
— Its cost of production;
— The market price trends (both domestic and international);
— Inter-crop price parity;
— The terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture (that is, the ratio of prices of farm inputs and farm outputs);
— A minimum of 50 per cent as the margin over the cost of production; and
— The likely implications of an MSP on consumers of that product.

• The minimum support price (MSP) is determined by the Central Government through a formula that takes into account production costs and sets the price at one-and-a-half times these expenses. This analysis considers both explicit costs (A2), which include expenses for items such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, fuel, irrigation, hired labour, and leased-in land, as well as the estimated value of unpaid labour provided by family members (FL).

• The farm unions are advocating the inclusion of capital assets, rentals, and forgone interest on owned land in the comprehensive cost
calculation (C2), as per the recommendation put forth by the National Commission for Farmers.

• Based on the findings of the Shanta Kumar Committee’s report in 2015, it was revealed that a mere 6% of agricultural households engage in the practise of selling wheat and rice to the government at Minimum Support Price (MSP) rates.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: What is minimum support price (MSP), and how is it fixed?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
7. Which of the following factors/policies were affecting the price of rice in India in the recent past? (UPSC GS1, 2020)
(1) Minimum Support Price
(2) Government’s trading
(3) Government’s stockpiling
(4) Consumer subsidies
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

8. In India, which of the following can be considered as public investment in agriculture? (UPSC GS1, 2020)
(1) Fixing Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce of all crops
(2) Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
(3) Social Capital development
(4) Free electricity supply to farmers
(5) Waiver of agricultural loans by the banking system
(6) Setting up of cold storage facilities by the governments.
In India, which of the following can be considered as public investment in agriculture?
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 5 only
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 2, 3 and 6 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

9. The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane is approved by the (UPSC GS1, 2015)
(a) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(b) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
(c) Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture
(d) Agricultural Produce Market Committee

EXPLAINED

Mystery of the Indus script

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Main Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

What’s the ongoing story: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced a $1 million prize for deciphering the script of the Indus Valley Civilisation, an enigma that endures more than a century after Sir John Marshall announced the discovery of the Bronze Age culture that thrived in valley of the Indus between c. 3300 and 1300 BCE.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Why Indus script is in news?

• The Indus script, associated with the Indus Valley Civilization, is characterized by what?

• What are the widely held hypothesis about the Indus script?

• Artifacts commonly associated with the Indus script-What are they?

• What are the primary challenge in deciphering the Indus script?

• Discuss the key challenges in deciphering the Harappan script.

• Significance of deciphering the Harappan script in reconstructing the socio-cultural and economic life of the Harappan people-Discuss

• Highlight the role of modern technologies such as AI and computational linguistics in decoding ancient scripts like the Harappan writing system.

Key Takeaways:

• Archaeologists, epigraphists, linguists, historians, and scientists have made more than 100 documented attempts to decipher the writing
system of the Harappans, without success.

• The announcement by Stalin followed the publication of a study of ‘Indus Signs And Graffiti Marks of Tamil Nadu’ by the state’s Department of Archaeology, which identified “parallels” between “more than 90% of the graffiti marks of South India and the graffiti marks of the Indus Valley Civilisation”.

• The study compared marks on 15,000 pot shards found in 140 archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu with 4,000 artefacts, including seals, discovered at Indus Valley sites, and identified 42 “base signs”, 544 “variants” and 1,521 “composite forms”.

Do You Know:

• The Indus Civilisation, which reached its zenith between 2600 and 1900 BCE, sprawled over more than 800,000 sq km in what is today Pakistan and parts of northwestern India. It was the world’s most sophisticated urban culture at the time, with an elaborate system of trade, taxation, and drainage.

• The plethora of inscriptions on seals and terracotta tablets found at Indus sites contain a variety of symbols – human and animal motifs, and what scholars have identified as parts of a forgotten script. However, there is no agreement on the number of symbols in the supposed script.

• Archaeologist S R Rao, who pioneered the deciphering effort, postulated in 1982 that the script contained 62 signs. This was refuted by the Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola, one of the most authoritative voices on the subject – he said there were 425 signs (Deciphering the Indus Script (1994)). Then, in 2016, archaeologist and epigrapher Bryan K Wells suggested the presence of 676 signs.

• From the early 2000s onward, questions have been raised on whether the so-called Indus “script” represented any language at all. This hypothesis was based mainly on the fact that all the Indus inscriptions are very short – with only about five characters on average – with the longest having only 26 characters.

• In a paper published in 2004, historian Steve Farmer, computer linguist Richard Sproat, and Indologist Michael Witzel claimed that the Indus “script” did not constitute a language-based writing system, but mainly comprised nonlinguistic symbols of political and religious significance.

• To decipher a script, the following subproblems have to be solved in order, Italian philologist Fabio Tamburini wrote in 2023 (Decipherment of Lost Ancient Scripts as Combinatorial Optimisation using Coupled Simulated Annealing).
– Deciding if a set of symbols actually represent a writing system;
– Devising appropriate procedures to isolate or segment the stream of symbols into a sequence of single signs;
–Reducing the set of signs to the minimal set for the writing system forming (its alphabet, syllabery, or inventory of signs) by identifying all allographs (the same sign written in a variant form, for example a printed ‘a’ and a cursive ‘a’);
–Assigning to each symbol their specified value, whether phonetic or otherwise;
–Trying to match these values to a specific language.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why is it so difficult to decipher the Harappan writing system?

UPSC Previous Year Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
10. Which of the following characterize/characterises the people of the Indus Civilization? (2013)
1. They possessed great palaces and temples.
2. They worshiped both male and female deities.
3. They employed horse-drawn chariots in warfare.
Select the correct statements using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None of the above

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1. (a)  2. (b) 3. (d) 4. (b) 5. (b) 6. (a) 7. (d) 8. (c) 9.(a) 10. (b)

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